Various Artists – Crossroads Guitar Festival (2007)

Released almost exactly three years after the first, tremendously successful Crossroads DVD, this double-disc documents the 2007 benefit concert for Clapton’s Crossroads Center substance abuse facility. “Guitar” is the operative word here, since all the participants are six-string players. As in the last show, the genres include country (Willie Nelson, Vince Gill), gospel (Robert Randolph), Latin rock (Los Lobos), pop (Sheryl Crow, John Mayer), jazz fusion (John McLaughlin, Jeff Beck) and lots of blues (everyone else). Some performers such as Randolph, Mayer, B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughan, Robert Cray, Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy, and of course Clapton return from the 2004 lineup. That was a two-day event held in Dallas, TX. This was a one day — a very long day — show moved to the home of the blues, a stadium just outside of Chicago, and features a very funny Bill Murray introducing the acts.

Based on the sunlight, it seems to be in chronological order, or close to it. Each artist gets one or two tunes cherrypicked from longer sets which keeps this album fast paced, even at its three-hour length. Still, it would make sense to release more music on a separate DVD or even CD for those who would like to hear the rest of the material. That is especially the case with Jeff Beck and Robert Randolph, two artists that burn up the stage with abbreviated performances. A highly anticipated reunion with Clapton and his Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood results in three songs, “Presence of the Lord,” “Can’t Find My Way Home,” and “Had to Cry Today” from that band’s only album.

While it sounds fine, there is a noticeable spark and edge missing from the interaction, leaving it somewhat bland and certainly anti-climactic. Derek Trucks burns through Layla’s “Anyday,” though, and Clapton sounds inspired on “Tell the Truth,” another Layla track cranked up with Trucks taking the Duane Allman slide part. Collaborations also bring out the best in some axe slingers, with Vince Gill and Albert Lee’s hot-wired “Country Boy,” and Jimmie Vaughan fronting the Robert Cray band on a sizzling slow blues “Dirty Work at the Crossroads.” (by Hal Horowitz)

Tracklist:
01. Sonny Landreth: Hell At Home (with Eric Clapton) (Landreth) 6.38
02. John McLaughlin: Maharina (McLaughlin) 8.00
03. Doyle Bramhall II; Outside Woman Blues (Reynolds) 3.45
04. Derek Trucks Band: Highway 61 Revisited (with Johnny Winter) (Dylan) 9.17
05. Robert Randolph & The Family Band: The March (Randolph) 12.04
06. The Robert Cray Band: Poor Johnny (Cray) 6.20
07. Jimmie Vaughan: Dirty Work At The Crossroads (with The Robert Cray Band) (Brown/ Robey) 4.09
08. Hubert Sumlin: Sitting On The Top Of The World (with he Robert Cray Band & Jimmie Vaughan (Burnett) 4.29
09. B.B. King: The Thrill Is Gone (Benson/Pettie) 7.14
10. John Mayer: I Don´t Need No Doctor (Ashford/Simpson/Armstead) 7.10
11. Vince Gill: Sweet Thing (Nicholson/Gill) 5.04
12. Albert Lee: Country Boy (with Vince Gill) (Lee/Smith/Colton)
13. Eric Clapton & Sheryl Crow: Tulsa Time (with Vince Gill & Albert Lee) (Flowers) 6.32
14. Willie Nelson: On The Road Again  (with Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill & Albert Lee) (Nelson) 2.50
15. Los Lobos: Chains Of Love (Hidalgo/Pérez) 6.53
16. Jeff Beck: Big Block (Beck/Bozzio/Hymas) 5.44
17. Eric Clapton: Little Queen Of Spades (Johnson) 12.59
18. Eric Clapton & Robbie Robertson: Further On Up The Road (Robey‎/Veasey) 7.18
19. Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton: Pearly Queen (Capaldi/Winwood) 5.47
20. Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton: Had To Cry Today (Winwood) 6.24
21. Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton: Cocaine (Cale) 9.30
22. Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood: Crossroads (Johnson) 5.59
23. Buddy Guy: Stone Crazy
24. Buddy Guy: Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues (Guy) 5.21
25. Buddy Guy & Eric Clapton: Hoochie Coochie Man (Dixon) 9.18
26. Buddy Guy: Sweet Home Chicago (with Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, John Mayer, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmie Vaughan, Johnny Winter) (Johnson) 8.53

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Los Lobos – …And A Time To Dance (1983)

…And a Time to Dance is a 1983 EP by Los Lobos. It was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Steve Berlin (not yet a full-time member of the band) and was the band’s first release on Slash Records. The EP brought the band its first wide acclaim. It was voted best EP of the year in the Village Voice’s influential Pazz & Jop critics poll. Critic Robert Christgau gave the record an “A-” in his Consumer Guide, calling it “good old rock and roll East L.A. style.” Trouser Press raved about “a spicy romp (in two languages) back and forth across musical borders few can traverse with such ease,” while Rolling Stone called it “an infectious dance record that deserves to be heard by rock fans.”

The track “Anselma” won the first Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance. The album was mixed and recorded entirely digital (by wikipedia)

1983’s …And a Time to Dance wasn’t Los Lobos’ first record, but if you lived outside of East Los Angeles, chances are excellent that you’d never crossed paths with a copy of their self-released debut album (Del Este de Los Angeles (Just Another Band from East L.A.)) before this EP hit the racks. At only seven songs, …And a Time to Dance didn’t give the group the space to present more than a quick once-over of their eclectic musical range, but it did make it clear that this was a really great band, with the kind of chops, intelligence, and maturity that can come from a decade of woodshedding. And on …And a Time to Dance, not only was the band having a great time playing “spot the genre” with their audience, they were crossbreeding styles and coming up with great sounds all their own: the straight-up rock & roll of “Let’s Say Goodnight” is fortified with a strong dose of Tex-Mex fire thanks to David Hidalgo’s accordion, the bluesy swing of “Walking Song” gets a spring in its step from a fleet-fingered jazz guitar line, and the two traditional numbers in Spanish both burn with the high spirits and hot tempos of a potent rock & roll band. And it’s hard not to love a song like “How Much Can I Do?,” in which a guy tries to prove his love to his wife by promising to lay off cheap wine and nights out at the nudie bar. If …And a Time to Dance didn’t quite make clear Los Lobos were one of America’s truly great bands, it did make clear they were a lot of fun and a force to be reckoned with, and that’s quite enough of a message to pass along in seven songs. (by Mark Deming)

Personnel:
David Hidalgo (guitar, accordion, vocals)
Cesar Rosas (guitar, bajo sexto, vocals)
Louie Pérez (drums, vocals)
Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals, guitarrón)
+
Steve Berlin (saxophone)

Tracklist:
01. Let’s Say Goodnight (Hidalgo/Pérez) 2.30
02. Walking Song (Hidalgo/Pérez) 2.45
03. Anselma (Suedan/Trigo) 3.04
04. Come On Let’s Go (Valens) 2.08
05. How Much Can I Do? (Hidalgo/Pérez) 2.34
06. Why Do You Do (Rosas) 2.17
07. Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio (Jimenez) 2.31

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Various Artists – A Love Song For Bobby Long (OST) (2005)

A Love Song for Bobby Long is a 2004 American drama film written and directed by Shainee Gabel. The screenplay is based on the novel Off Magazine Street by Ronald Everett Capps.

Eighteen-year-old Purslane (Pursy) Hominy Will leaves a Florida trailer park where she lives with her abusive boyfriend to return to her hometown of New Orleans following the drug overdose death of her jazz singer mother Lorraine, a free spirit whom Pursy had not seen for several years. The girl is startled to discover one-time Auburn University professor of literature Bobby Long and his protégé and former teaching assistant, struggling writer Lawson Pines, living in her mother’s dilapidated fixer-upper home. Both men are heavy drinkers who spend their days smoking numerous cigarettes, quoting Dylan Thomas, Benjamin Franklin, and T.S. Eliot, playing chess, and spending time with the neighbors while Bobby strums a guitar and sings melancholy country-folk songs. The two convince Pursy her mother left the house to all three of them, although in reality she is the sole heir and the time they legally are allowed to remain in it is limited by the terms of the will.

Pursy moves in and proves to be the most responsible and sensible member of the dysfunctional family the three create. The men’s efforts to drive her away gradually abate as they grow fond of her with the passing of time. Bobby – unshaven, slovenly, and suffering from ailments he prefers to ignore – attempts to improve the lot of the young girl by introducing her to The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and encouraging her to return to high school and get her diploma. Lawson, suffering from writer’s block, finds himself attracted to Pursy but hesitant to complicate his life further by becoming involved with her. Memories of Lorraine linger for all of them, especially Pursy, who vividly recalls her mother ignoring her in favor of pursuing a career. Her sense of who her mother was is altered somewhat when she finds a cache of letters Lorraine wrote her but never mailed, letters that lead her to discover not only how her mother really felt about her, but the true identity of her father as well. (by wikipedia)

And here´s the Soundtrack of this movie:

The soundtrack to Shainee Gabel’s directorial debut, A Love Song for Bobby Long, is steeped in the regional sounds of New Orleans. Based on the novel Off Magazine Street by Everett Capps, the film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, and John Travolta — the latter performs two cuts (“Barbara Allen” and the Howard Barnes/Don Robertson hit “I Really Don’t Want to Know”) — focuses on the grittier, blue-collar side of the Big Easy. Capps’ son, singer/songwriter Grayson Capps, provides three of the compilation’s most affective tracks, “Washboard Lisa,” “Love Song for Bobby Long,” and a gorgeous duet with Theresa Andersson called “Lorraine’s Song (My Heart Was a Lonely Hunter) — both have cameos in the film. Nathan Larson’s brief but powerfully atmospheric score appears twice, casting a long shadow of melancholy that permeates classic cuts from celebrated bluesman Lonnie Pitchford, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Magic Slim, and Big Bill Morganfield. Other highlights include Los Lobos’ previously unreleased “Someday,” an outtake from 1990’s Neighborhood, and Nada Surf’s achingly nostalgic “Blonde on Blonde,” rounding out a collection that effortlessly and continuously provides the listener with dusk-tipped emotionality and a succinct sense of place. (by James Christopher Monger)

Not only the perfect background music, but the backbone of a little and precious independent movie that blends together love, life, death, literature, music, loneliness, friendship, failures, heavy hungovers, redemption…
Young and talented songwriters (Grayson Capps, Nathan Larson), indie acts (Nada Surf, Trespassers William), blues legends (Lightnin’ Hopkins, Magic Slim & the Teardrops) and John Travolta himself (singin’ a couple of numbers including the traditional Barbara Allen) all cooperate to give birth to a collection of trembling and at the same time intimate songs that accompanies the story of the tortured existence of Mr Bobby Long & his Friends in a New Orleans never as charming and mysterious as here.
An hidden gem not to be missed. (by tenentedrogo)

Tracklist:

01. Los Lobos: Someday (Hidalgo/Perez) 3.44
02. Grayson Capps & Theresa Andersson:  Lorraine’s Song (My Heart Was A Lonely Hunter) (Capps) 4.50
03. Thalia Zedek: Bone (Zedek) 4.35
04. Nathan Larson, Joan Wasser & Lyle Molzan:  Bobby (Original Score) (Larson) 1.48
05. Trespassers William: Different Stars (Williams) 4.45
06. Lonnie Pitchford: Lonesome Blues (Pitchford) 5.34
07. Magic Slim & The Teardrops:  Early Every Morning (Holt) 5.08
08. John Travolta: I Really Don’t Want To Know (Barnes/Robertson) 0.54
09. John Travolta: Barbara Allen (Traditional) 1.02
10. Giant Drag: This Isn’t It (Hardy) 3.00
11. Nathan Larson, Joan Wasser & Lyle Molzan:  Daughter Like Mother (Larson) 1.59
12. Big Bill Morganfield: Rising Son (Morganfield) 4.18
13. Grayson Capps: Washboard Lisa (Capps) 3.24
14. Nada Surf: Blonde On Blonde (Caws) 4.30
15. Lightnin’ Hopkins: Praying Ground Blues (Ellen) 2.59
16. Grayson Capps: Love Song For Bobby Long (Capps) 4.52

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Thanks to greygoose for the tip !

Los Lobos – How Will The Wolf Survive (1984)

How Will the Wolf Survive? is the major label debut album of Los Lobos. In 1989, it was ranked #30 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 461 on the magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

In 1983, the band released an extended play entitled …And a Time to Dance, which was well received by critics but only sold about 50,000 copies. However, the sales of the EP earned the group enough money to purchase a Dodge van, enabling the band to tour throughout the United States for the first time. The group began composing How Will the Wolf Survive? at the home of Pérez’s brother-in-law, a time in which several songs, including “A Matter of Time”, were written. Pérez explained, “We’d sit down with a guitar, a tape recorder and a jar of Taster’s Choice, and we were coffee achievers all afternoon.”

The album’s title and the title song were inspired by a National Geographic article entitled “Where Can the Wolf Survive”, which the band members related to their own struggle to gain success in the United States while maintaining their Mexican roots. Drummer Louie Pérez recalled, “It was like our group, our story: What is this beast, this animal that the record companies can’t figure out? Will we be given the opportunity to make it or not?”

On How Will the Wolf Survive?, the band experimented with various genres, including styles reflective of the group’s traditional Mexican roots. “I Got Loaded” features influences of R&B, while “A Matter of Time” blends country and blues sensibilities.

Both “A Matter of Time” and “Will the Wolf Survive?” discuss the lives of immigrants in the United States. “A Matter of Time” is about a Mexican crossing the border in search of a better life.

Critical reaction to the album was favorable. Mark Deming’s retrospective review gushed, “While rarely flashy, even a casual listen offers all the proof you might need that Los Lobos were a band of world-class musicians, with David Hidalgo’s guitar work especially impressive throughout.” Robert Christgau praised the group’s originality: “Their debut LP makes it sound as if they invented the style. Who did the original of that one, you wonder, only to discover that you’re listening to the original.” (by wikipedia)

Los Lobos spent years playing parties, wedding receptions, restaurants, bars, and anyplace else where someone might pay them for a gig before landing a deal with Slash Records, and their first full-length album for the label, How Will the Wolf Survive?, is the work of a band that had learned how to play something for everyone while still maintaining their own musical personality in the process. How Will the Wolf Survive? swings back and forth from straight-ahead rock (“Don’t Worry Baby”) and potent R&B grooves (“I Got Loaded”) to country-accented blues ballads (“A Matter of Time”) and Mexican traditional numbers (“Serenata Nortena”), with the band’s exemplary taste, musical smarts, and road-tested maturity in evidence on every cut. While rarely flashy, even a casual listen offers all the proof you might need that Los Lobos were a band of world-class musicians, with David Hidalgo’s guitar work especially impressive throughout. Just as importantly, How Will the Wolf Survive? was the first album where Los Lobos showed how much they had to say as songwriters, especially on “A Matter of Time” and the title cut, two songs that offered a moving and compassionate look at the lives of illegal aliens in America. On …And a Time to Dance, Los Lobos showed the world that they were a great dance band, but How Will the Wolf Survive? showed they were a great dance band, and a lot more besides. (by Mark Deming)

Personnel:
Steve Berlin (saxophone, percussion)
David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, accordion, lap steel, percussion)
Conrad Lozano (vocals, bass, guitarrón)
Louie Pérez (vocals, drums, bajo quinto)
Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar, bajo sexto, mandolin)
+
Alex Acuña (percussion)
T-Bone Burnett (guitar, organ on 06.)

Tracklist:
01. Don’t Worry Baby (Rosas/Perez/Burnett) 2.43
02. A Matter Of Time (Hidalgo/Perez) 3.55
03. Corrido #1 (Rosas) 2.42
04. Our Last Night (Hidalgo/Perez) 3.08
05. The Breakdown (Hidalgo/Perez/Burnett) 4.12
06. I Got Loaded (Bob) 3.20
07. Serenata Norteña (Traditional) 2.53
08. Evangeline (Hidalgo/Perez) 2.43
09. Got To Let You Know (Rosas) 2.35
10. Lil’ King Of Everything (Hidalgo/Perez) 1.19
11. Will The Wolf Survive? (Hidalgo/Perez) 3.41

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Los Lobos – Colossal Head (1996)

Unlike most bands in their second decade of recording, Los Lobos gets more daring and diverse as they get older, creating sonic landscapes that are based in their justly celebrated roots rock but twisting off into wild, unexpected directions. Colossal Head is their most adventurous work to date, building on the moody, atmospheric Kiko without losing sight of their gritty blues roots. While it certainly shows signs of David Hidalgo’s lo-fi, experimental Latin Playboys project, the album isn’t merely an exercise in sound. Los Lobos applies their broad musical palette to a set of tightly written, inventive songs that may not be as immediate as their past work, but are no less melodic and rewarding. Instead of running through a number of different genres on each individual song, they make a dream-like sonic collage that draws from jazz, funk, and avant-garde as much as their traditional rock, R&B, Latin, and blues. What keeps Colossal Head from drifting off into space is Los Lobos’ love of American musical traditions. Not only have they mastered their influences, they have fully assimilated them into their sound, creating their own, unique music. And that’s far more interesting than simply regurgitating the same blues, rock, Mexican, and country licks. (Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Steve Berlin (keyboards, horns)
David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, accordion, fiddle, requinto jarocho)
Conrad Lozano (vocals, bass, guitarron)
Louie Pérez (vocals, guitar, drums, jarana)
Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar, bajo sexto)
+
Victor Bisetti (drums, percussion)
Cougar Estrada (percussion)
Yuka Honda (keyboards)
Pete Thomas (drums)
Efrain Toro (percussion)

Tracklist:
01. Revolution (Hidalgo/Pérez) 3.10
02. Mas y Mas (Hidalgo/Pérez) 4.44
03. Maricela (Rosas) 3.51
04. Everybody Loves A Train (Hidalgo/Pérez) 3.30
05. Can’t Stop The Rain (Rosas) 3.36
06. Life Is Good (Hidalgo/Pérez) 4.08
07. Little Japan (Rosas/Pérez) 5.09
08. Manny’s Bones (Hidalgo/Pérez) 3.24
09. Colossal Head (Hidalgo/Pérez) 4.13
10. This Bird’s Gonna Fly (Rosas) 4.18
11. Buddy Ebsen Loves The Night Time (Hidalgo) 2.57

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The Chieftains – The Wide World Over (2002)

In the Chieftains’ four decades of recording, they’ve changed labels a handful of times, and each label has seen fit to record at least one or two collections of the band’s output under their tenure. At this point they have so many best-ofs and greatest-hits compilations, it’s tough for the listener to know the best of what they’re actually hearing. New millennium — new collection: the band’s longtime label, RCA Victor, has done the Celtic community a favor by releasing a collection that deals more with the band’s journey through their different phases as opposed to trying to reassemble a hits package. The end result is almost like listening to a radio station that only plays Chieftains songs. There are some live tracks, their countrified romp through “Cotton-Eyed Joe”; Van Morrison’s adult-contemporary “Shenandoah”; an unusual introduction of the bandmembers in Chinese; appearances from Sting, Diana Krall, and Art Garfunkel; and a couple of new recordings. The breezy cover of “Morning Has Broken” fares better than the hybridized “Redemption Song” (in fact, it’s a challenge to think of any instances of a successful Celtic/reggae alloy). The album will be enjoyed by Chieftains fans as a fun collection of songs they have never heard back-to-back before, and those looking for a greatest-hits collection will have plenty of other places to look. (by Zac Johnson)

Personnel:
Derek Bell (cláirseach, oboe, keyboards, tiompán, vocals)
Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals)
Martin Fay (fiddle, bones, vocals)
Seán Keane (fiddle, tin whistle, vocals)
Matt Molloy (flute, tin whistle, vocals)
Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes, tin whistle, button accordion, bodhrán, vocals)
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Anúna (vocals)
Jean Butler (dancer)
Ry Cooder (electric guitar, mandocello)
Elvis Costello (vocals)
Art Garfunkel (vocals)
Diana Krall (vocals, piano)
Ziggy Marley (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Joni Mitchell (vocals)
Van Morrison (vocals)
Carlos Nunez (bagpipe)
Sinéad O’Connor (vocals)
Linda Ronstadt (vocals)
Ricky Skaggs (vocals)
Don Was (percussion)
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Belfast Harp Orchestra
Chinese Ensemble
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel
Los Lobos
The Corrs
The Rolling Stones

Tracklist:
01. March Of The King Of Laois (Traditional) 4.25
02. The Foggy Dew (feat: Sinéad O’Connor) (Traditional) 5.01
03. I Know My Love (feat: The Corrs) (Traditional) 3.27
04. Cotton-Eyed Joe (feat: Ricky Skaggs) (Traditional) 2.45
05. The Magdalene Laundries (feat: Joni Mitchell) (Mitchell) 4.57
06. Live from Matt Molloy’s Pub (Traditional) 2.21
07. Shenandoah (feat: Van Morrison) (Traditional) 3.52
08. The Munster Cloak (Traditional) 6.12
09. Morning Has Broken (feat: Art Garfunkel / Diana Krall) (Traditional) 2.55
10. Morning Dew /Women Of Ireland (P.Moloney) 2.57
11. Mo Ghile Mear (feat: Sting) (P.Moloney/Traditional) 3.20
12. Carolan’s Concerto (feat: Belfast Harp Orchestra) (Traditional) 3.02
13. Guadalupe (feat: Los Lobos / Linda Ronstadt) (Traditional) 3.31
14. Full Of Joy (feat: Chinese Ensemble) (Traditional) 3.24
15. Here’s A Health To The Company (Traditional) 3.03
16. Chasing the Fox (feat: Erich Kunzel / Cincinnati Pops Orchestra) (P.Moloney/ Traditional) 4.11
17. Long Journey Home (Anthem) (feat: Anúna / Elvis Costello) (Costello/P.Moloney) 3.20
18. The Rocky Road To Dublin (feat: The Rolling Stones) (Traditional) 4.17
19. Redemption Song (feat: Ziggy Marley) (B.Marley) 4.22

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